Archive for the “Impressions” Category

As a fan of the the first anime series and of the originating manga, I was interested in how this new version, FMA Brotherhood, would turn out. I was initially optimistic and I haven’t been disappointed so far after watching the first four episodes (through FUNimation’s video portal, just to clarify).

I like how Brotherhood is running faster than its predecessor. Shou Tucker’s story originally occupied two episodes; it’s now been told in one. A similar condensing happened with Cornello and Lior, with Rose’s “revived” brother and Ed in chains being cut, omissions I’m fine with. The mining town incident with Lt. Yoki was wrapped up in a few lines during an office conversation. I think the Clause/Majihal and the train hostage situation are being passed over entirely for the sake of a quicker storyline, which may be for the better. Those took place before Ed got his State Alchemist title, anyway, and it would benefit the series to not waste time on events of the past and instead focus on the main narrative.

Even though this remake seems “darker” – however you wish to read that – there are still the same moments of humor, e.g., Al being confused as Fullmetal during the brothers’ first appearances and Ed being sensitive about his height.

Something that bothered me about the first series, now that I look back at it, was Michiru Oshima’s orchestral score because it could be overbearing at times, particularly in the last quarter of the series. Akira Senju is handling the soundtrack this time around and though there are some tracks with similar dramatic vamps, there have also been less bombastic ones including a sullen, Middle Eastern-sounding string piece in ep. 3 (15:25-16:37 on Funi’s timecode) when Al was telling Rose about how he came to be a suit of armor. Regarding the opening and ending sequences, I didn’t care for either at first but then I grew to like most of YUI’s “again” – the quick bridge still annoys me a bit.

P.S. Alex Leavitt wrote an interesting post recently about the art design differences between the two series based on their first episodes.

I have been trying to stay away from others’ detailed first impressions of winter premieres so as to not influence my first viewings of them. Sadly, Twitter is more pervasive in potentially spoiling such things but at least I got a sense of what a segment of the community feels about certain series after only one episode.

In this post, I will provide my short reactions to Akikan!, White Album, Maria Holic, Kurokami, and Asu no Yoichi! – short because earlier reactions from others likely recounted the plots satisfactorily and because I don’t see the need to be garrulous over just the first episodes. In addition, I made a list of commonalities among most of the group that came to mind from watching them all in a row, the exception being Asu no Yoichi!
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Regular meetings for my anime club began last Wednesday and Thursday and while it was a little odd watching the new management running the operation, I figured I would at least get a feel for the larger, slightly newer crowd and also a few series I hadn’t sampled before. What follows are my impressions of what was shown during the first three sessions.
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One of the main differences between covering anime and covering films or video games is that there is a relatively short lead time – usually 1-3 months – between a title’s production announcement and its airing. Very little information surfaces about the development cycles except for the cast and the basic plot, which hampers the hype potential for most titles with the absence of previews but is likely a result of the quickness with which an anime is produced in Japan.

It takes a bit longer to get things produced for the aftermarket that is America and it has become more important to remind people about which anime are being released and why the purchasing public should care about them. That’s why I was looking forward to the debut of the Funimation Update, a monthly promotional podcast. I don’t listen to many anime podcasts and only occasionally check out Anime Today for the interviews so I figured I would check out this shorter-form, monthly video show. I actually enjoyed watching it as it reminded me of On The Spot (Gamespot’s weekly broadcast show) since the Update alternated between clearly-defined segments and related trailers.
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A few days ago I received the first of four expected issues of PiQ magazine (produced by PiQ, LLC) and after reading most of it, I have to say I am already beginning to prefer it to Newtype USA, its previous anime- and manga-focused iteration. Those two subjects are still covered but the focus of more on a greater variety of entertainment including comics, video games, sci-fi, and American cartoons. For instance, there are features on Appleseed Ex Machina; Avatar, which I still haven’t seen despite many recommendations; Invasion U.S.A., a Marvel comic beginning next month; Code Geass; and the currently on hiatus Sarah Connor Chronicles.
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The preview disc packed in with this month’s issue of Newtype USA contains the first episodes of The Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge), Magikano, and Yawara! I watched all three episodes in subtitled form and short answer: I didn’t like Magikano but did enjoy the other two. You can read my long form opinions after the jump.
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When I picked up an issue of Daisuki a week ago, I came to like one series in particular. That was “Idol”, created by Dortmund resident Stella Brandner, which began serialization in May. Since then, I’ve bought the other three chapters through issues of the manga magazine and enjoyed what I’ve read thus far. The main plot is that 19-year-old Elle is a photographer and painter who is a fan of the rock band Sub Four, whose tour through Germany happens to make a stop in her home city of Dortmund. She goes to the concert with her best friend Sascha but is mistakenly pushed out by security and loses her sketchbook in the process. The lead singer of the band, 27-year-old Damien, picks up and goes over to her apartment to return it to her while offering her a job as the band’s tour photographer.
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I had these three on my anticipated list and decided to watch the raws because I want to get a feel for the new anime without all those pesky colored words getting in the way. At least for these first episodes. I’ll also try to post my reactions to other anime that are premiering that I also happen to download raw. Then I’ll run to back to my translated-for me-so-I-don’t-have-to-infer format of watching anime until the next batch comes along.

Hitohira:

The first episode of this romantic school comedy was pretty entertaining considering that I couldn’t understand much of the dialogue and thus missed some jokes. But I could follow the faces and get what was going on. Anyway, nervous girl Mugi Asai and her good friend enter high school and within a couple days, Mugi and a black-haired male classmate are coerced into joining a drama club by the president Nono and her officers. A blond-haired, energetic girl sees another drama club’s performance of “Prima Donna” at the entering festival and decides to join that one. Nono, the leader of the former, is quick to make a distinction between the two and it looks they’ll confront each other in episode 2. I’m definitely gonna have to watch this again when the subs come out so I can get more of the finer details, like what the two clubs are actually named.
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In 2035, the student population of Japan’s school system is much lower than in the past due to the declining birth rate and enthusiasm is at about the same level. Apparently this takes place after the Examination War Era and many young people just eschew school and take up part-time jobs to get a jump start on their futures. It is this dreary educational climate that Manami Amamiya (just call her Manabi) transfers into Seioh High School and her genki nature is just the catalyst the school needs to make school exciting again.
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I had downloaded the first two episodes of Asatte no Houkou a couple months ago and forgot about it until I found out the anime club needed a 12/13-episode series to fill the slot Sukisho will vacate in a couple weeks. So I watched those initial two I had and found it interesting but found it significantly sluggish due to the necessary exposition and the characters not believing what had just happened to them. Fortunately I enjoyed the next couple episodes as the main characters became somewhat acclimated to their situation so I’m currently to get through the remaining episodes as quickly as possible.
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